I Went Down
I Went Down ★★★ 1997 (R)
The title of this dark comedy about Irish gangsters has many meanings, including a quote from Plato. Not too many caper movies can boast of a plug from the father of Western philosophy, but luckily director Breathnach and writer McPherson don't take anything too seriously. Their heroes are hapless Git (McDonald) and hairtrigger Bunny (Gleeson), a duo who show you what Laurel and Hardy might look like if they were cast as the hit men in “Pulp Fiction.” Ordered by big boss Tom French (Doyle) to bring in Frank Grogan (Caffrey), a man who swindled him out of big bucks and also slept with his wife, they fumble through bad directions and a missed meeting with a sinister fellow called “The Friendly Face,” but manage to nab Grogan anyway. The two then attempt to deliver the extremely gabby Grogan to French, leading to a showdown between all four men. More character and dialogue driven than action oriented, this went down as the highest grossing independent Irish film after its theatrical release. 105m/C VHS . IR GB Brendan Gleeson, Peter McDonald, Tony Doyle, Peter Caffrey, Donal O'Kelly, Antoine Byrne; D: Paddy Breathnach; W: Conor McPherson; C: Cian de Buitlear; M: Dario Marianelli.